Virginia Madsen and Antonio Sabato Jr.’s son appeared in court on Tuesday following his arrest in connection with an alleged fatal hit-and-run in Alaska.
Jack Sabato, 32, was arrested in Anchorage on Monday and charged with leaving the scene of an accident without assisting an injured person, as well as leaving the scene of an accident resulting in injury or death. A representative for the Alaska Department of Corrections confirmed the charges to Our News Outlet.
The Anchorage Police Department said the victim, identified as 42-year-old Carl Simmonds, was found at 5:48 a.m. Monday. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to charging documents obtained by KTUU, Jack told officers he was driving home after “doing late night DoorDashing” at around 5:35 a.m. when he turned onto a road near a hospital. He said “something suddenly appeared in the road” before his headlights went out.
Jack reportedly acknowledged hitting “something” but said he did not stop to investigate because he was afraid he did not have insurance, the documents state.
During Tuesday’s hearing, the heavily tattooed 32-year-old appeared downcast as he wore a yellow jumpsuit. His bail was set at $5,000.
Virginia Madsen and Antonio Sabato Jr.’s son appeared in court on Tuesday following his arrest in connection with an alleged fatal hit-and-run in Alaska
Virginia Madsen (center) and Antonio Sabato Jr. (left) are pictured with Jack in Los Angeles in 2012
He briefly confirmed that he worked as an Amazon delivery driver and answered “no” when asked whether he had any money saved.
Jack was also ordered not to drive and faces an additional $5,000 penalty if he fails to attend future court hearings, according to KTUU.
Online jail records showed that Jack remained in custody at the Anchorage Correctional Complex as of Wednesday afternoon.
In a statement to TMZ on Tuesday, his father, 54-year-old General Hospital star Sabato Jr., said: “We all just found out the terrible news and our family is digesting this horrible news and asking for privacy in this devastating news. Thank you.”
The model and actor added that he had not yet been able to speak with his son.
Our News Outlet has contacted representatives for Madsen, Sabato Jr. and the Anchorage Police Department for comment but has not received a response.
Charging documents obtained by AlaskaNewsSource state that police recovered surveillance video of the collision from the Blood Bank of Alaska and used it to identify the vehicle.
Investigators traced the car to Jack’s home address, where they allegedly found “fresh damage to the right front corner that was consistent with a pedestrian strike,” according to the charging document. Police later seized the vehicle after obtaining a warrant.
At 2:46 p.m., Jack allegedly called police and said he had hit an animal with his Tahoe and wanted to speak with officers, the charging documents say. He reportedly told police he made the call because he “knew the worst.”
Jack has largely stayed out of the public eye in recent years.
His only acting credit is in the 2008 comedy Diminished Capacity, which starred his mother alongside Matthew Broderick and Alan Alda.
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Heavily tattooed Jack appeared downcast in a yellow jumpsuit during the hearing, where bail was set at $5,000. He confirmed that he worked for Amazon and said “no” when asked whether he had any money saved
Sabato remains held at the Anchorage Correctional Complex and was still in custody as of Wednesday afternoon, according to online jail records
Sabato (above with his parents in Hollywood in 1999) was arrested on charges of leaving the scene of an accident without assisting the injured and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in injury or death
The victim, identified by the APD as 42-year-old Carl Simmonds, was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers later found the Chevrolet Tahoe believed to have struck him and arrested its alleged driver, Sabato; above, Sabato Jr. and Madsen in Los Angeles in 2004
In a statement to TMZ, Antonio Sabato Jr. (above in Los Angeles in 2018) said: “We all just found out the terrible news and our family is digesting this horrible news and asking for privacy in this devastating news. Thank you”
Jack Sabato was born in 1994, and his parents separated in 1998. He is Madsen’s only child, while Sabato Jr. has a daughter and another son with two former partners; above, Sabato Jr. and Madsen in Los Angeles in 1998
Madsen is an acclaimed actress who received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the 2004 hit comedy Sideways (above with co-stars Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church and Sandra Oh)
Sabato Jr. is a model-turned-actor known for roles on General Hospital and Melrose Place in the 1990s. He later made an unsuccessful bid to become a Republican politician; above, at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio
His only other apparent connection to show business came in a 2006 episode of the reality series Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan, in which he appeared with Madsen.
Madsen established herself with a supporting role in David Lynch’s Dune (1984) before taking on major parts in the 1990s, including the horror classic Candyman (1992) and the civil rights courtroom drama Ghosts of Mississippi (1996).
She received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the acclaimed 2004 comedy Sideways.
Sabato is Madsen’s only son. She began a five-year relationship with his father in 1993, following her 1992 divorce from her first husband, Danny Huston.
Sabato was born in 1994, and his parents separated four years later. Madsen went on to marry actor Nick Holmes in 2020 after they had been together for a decade.
Sabato Jr. has two other children: a daughter with former partner Kristin Rossetti Biasi, whom he dated from 2000 to 2007, and a son with his third wife, Cheryl Nunes, to whom he was married from 2012 to 2018.
His first marriage was to model and actress Alicia Tully Jensen, from 1992 to 1993.
The model-turned-actor is best known for playing Jagger Cates on General Hospital from 1992 to 1995 and Jack Parezi on Melrose Place from 1995 to 1996. He later pursued a career in Republican politics.
He mounted an unsuccessful campaign for California’s 26th Congressional District, losing to Democrat Julia Brownley in the 2018 general election by 24 percentage points. Brownley has held the seat ever since, although she did not seek reelection for the 2027 term.
Sabato Jr. is the son of acclaimed Italian actor Antonio Sabato Sr., who appeared in numerous classic spaghetti westerns and crime thrillers.
